'It’s my duty to the people that didn’t make it'

Wisconsin veterans talk about visiting the Vietnam Veterans memorial as part of a May 16 Never Forgotten Honor Flight to Washington D.C.
Nathan Phelps/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Veterans visit Washington, war memorials to honor fallen comrades

John Brandenburg of Rhinelander touches a name engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. May 15 on a Never Forgotten Honor Flight while Cal Doering of Gleason looks on.(Photo: Nathan Phelps/USA TODAY NETWORK -- Wisconsin)

“I was hit twice there. I survived, they didn’t,” said the U.S. Army machine gunner who served in Vietnam in 1967 and 1968. “They gave the ultimate sacrifice and I went on to have a good life after that. They didn’t have that chance.”

Brandenburg was one of 98 Vietnam- and Korean War-era veterans who traveled to Washington earlier this month as part of a Never Forgotten Honor Flight from Mosinee. The one-day trip was comprised of veterans from central and northern Wisconsin.

“It should be a very happy time, but when you get to the wall here, it isn’t,” said Brandenburg, who lives in Rhinelander. “It catches you right there. It brings back some good memories, but it brings back some awful ones, too.”

The visit has a deep meaning to him. He was seeking five of his comrades among the 58,315 names on the memorial.

Dozens of other Wisconsin veterans also sought out names under a bright spring sun. The bright gold jackets and shirts of the veterans mixed with the springtime garb of passing tourists. A handful of U.S. Park Rangers helped veterans make paper etchings of the names engraved in the polished granite.

The night before the trip, Dan Reid of Schofield said he wasn’t sure how close he’d get to the monument. He’d ridden a motorcycle there 15 years ago as part of a massive gathering of veterans.

“It bothers me that I have not actually been able to go up to the wall,” said Reid who served with an Army aviation unit in Nha Trang in 1965 refueling aircraft and voluntarily flying combat missions as a helicopter gunner. “I want to etch some names that I haven’t been able to do yet.”

He doubted he would.

“I’ll have someone else do it for me,” Reid said.

But in the end, when he got to the wall, he did it himself.

With an oversize crayon and piece of paper, Reid pressed the paper on the surface and began coloring over the name of Michael P. Malueg, a Marine from Antigo killed in 1969.

Like this topic? You may also like these photo galleries:

He stepped back, paused briefly to look down at the green etching in his hands then moved on to find the next name.

Reid talked slowly when asked why he wanted to go on this trip. It was hard for him to explain. The conversation briefly switched to another topic before he continued.

“I’ve always felt guilt about getting out of there and some of my friends didn’t,” he said. “I think a lot of people feel that.”

Never forgotten

The day-long trip to Washington was the 24th for the Wausau-based Never Forgotten Honor Flight, an operation that has flown more than 2,194 veterans to the nation’s capital since 2010. Demographics are shifting as more Korea and Vietnam War veterans sign up for the flights.

The May 16 flight included 92 Vietnam veterans and six from Korea. Another 722 Vietnam veterans, 36 Korea veterans and 13 World War II veterans are waiting to go on future flights.

Never Forgotten has two more flights planned for late summer and fall. Shortly before the flight returned to Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee, veterans were encouraged to share their stories with families. Organizers provided a book to each veteran to help start that process.

“What changes every single flight are the veterans and their stories,” said Mike Thompson, co-founder and president of the organization. “Every single veteran has an amazing story and it’s important for them to tell that story. In some cases it takes a huge bag of sand off their back and they’re able to come to grips with some long-hurting feelings.”

The flights – which are paid for by business, civic organizations, unions, schools and individual donations – are open to all veterans who served during World War II, Korea and Vietnam eras, even if they never deployed out of the United States.

The National World War II Museum says there are 13,116 World War II veterans in Wisconsin. Nationally, about 430 of those veterans die each day.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs calculated there were 35,496 Korean War-era veterans and 140,064 Vietnam War-era veterans living in Wisconsin in 2014. Nationally, those veterans are passing away at a daily rate of 150 and 390, respectively.

Never Forgotten Honor Flight is one of five organizations in Wisconsin, all of which are part of a larger national network that has hubs in 43 states. There are similar organizations in Appleton, Madison, LaCrosse, and Port Washington.

Like the central Wisconsin program, Menasha-based Old Glory Honor Flight is flying an increasing number of Vietnam veterans to Washington D.C.

For the past few years Old Glory, the Experimental Aircraft Association and American Airlines have offered a flight for Vietnam veterans during AirVenture in Oshkosh. The Yellow Ribbon Honor Flight returns on July 29.

"After that we're opening the flood gates to all of our Vietnam veterans to apply and get them on the wait list like we did with the World War II and Korean War veterans," said Diane MacDonald, one of the founding members of Old Glory Honor Flight. "I would expect most of those flights after EAA will be blended because we always get a couple of applications from World War II vets or Korea War vets."

Dan Reid of Schofield makes an etching of of the name of Michael P. Malueg on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. as part of Never Forgotten Honor Flight.(Photo: Nathan Phelps/ USA TODAY NETWORK -- Wisconsin)

Welcome home

Before the first Wisconsin veterans stepped off the plane at Reagan National Airport, several dozen passers-by gathered outside the gate. A pair of bagpipers, transiting the airport and previously unaware of the honor flight, stopped to provide a soundtrack to their arrival.

As the veterans walked, or rolled, out of the gate applause broke out – and continued. The group of well-wishers grew larger as more and more people stopped. Hands of strangers, young and old, extended from the phalanx of travelers who offered handshakes and a steady stream of “Welcome home.”

It was an emotional airport arrival, one many veterans never got 40 or 50 years ago.

“It’s not like closure, but it kind of is,” said Thomas Zaverousky, an Air Force mechanic from Antigo who served in Vietnam working on AC-47 gunships. “We never got anything when we came home. You just went to the next base and that was it. This kind of gives you a feeling of accomplishment like we did something, even if not everyone agreed with it, we went and did our jobs, that’s all we did."

CLOSE

Nearly 100 Korean and Vietnam war veterans are traveling to Washington D.C. from Mosinee today as part of the Never Forgotten Honor Flight.
Nathan Phelps/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Throughout the day groups of students, and adults, approached the veterans and thanked them for their service. A few teenage girls posed for photos with some of the veterans while many others offered a handshake and thanks.

Like the changing demographics of the flight, the attitude toward Vietnam veterans appears to have shifted. Serving in Vietnam meant changing out of your uniform for the trip home in the turbulent 1960s and ‘70s. Today it inspires gratitude from generations who have benefited from that very service.

Arnold Putnam, Jr., of Park Falls found himself surrounded by some of those students at Arlington National Cemetery. They lined up to say thanks to the Marine helicopter gunner who had come to the memorial where names of friends are inscribed.

It wasn’t the first time he’d had children thank him that day.

“I’m very happy,” Putnam said about the decision to make the trip.

Much of the emotional weight of the trip came early in the day with visits to the Vietnam and Korea memorials. For much of the afternoon, veterans got a VIP tour of the city and military memorials and monuments. A pair of escorting Park Police squad cars ensured no red lights and no waiting in traffic. No small feat in D.C.

Like many of the other Vietnam veterans, Wayne Dieck knows names on the wall. He served in the infantry with the U.S. Army in Vietnam from 1966 and 1967. Like others, he didn’t really know what to expect from the trip.

With the sun casting a soft early evening light into the airport terminal, Dieck reflected on the day shortly before boarding the chartered Sun Country 737 airliner.

“The wall was tough, but the memorials were all nice,” he said. “It was worth the trip. I’m happy, very happy.”

It’s not just the veterans who take something from the trip.

“It means a lot to me just to know that he gets to the see the memorials,” said Barb Dieck, Wayne’s wife of 45 years. “What he went through in Vietnam, it means an awful lot. It’s a great thing. I can’t say enough about the honor flight.”

The return to Mosniee was equally impressive as the arrival in the Capital. Hundreds of people lined the airport’s concourse cheering and greeting the returning veterans shortly after 10 p.m.

Just outside of the terminal, in a chilly spring breeze, husbands and wives embraced, kissed and exchanged questions and answers about what each had done during the day. The gold-jacket clad veterans shook hands, laughed and exchanged stories.

A few balloons bobbed in the crowd.

“Welcome Home” they read.

nphelps@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @nathanphelpsPG or Facebook at Nathan-Phelps-Gannett-Media-Wisconsin